Agassi continues on favourite course

Australian Open favourite Andre Agassi plays a backhand during his comfortable win over Australian Todd Larkham at Rod Laver Arena.
Picture: JOE ARMAO

He's 33, not as quick as Lleyton Hewitt, as powerful as Andy Roddick, or as multi-skilled as Roger Federer. Yet Andre Agassi remains favourite for the Australian Open and last night, the Las Vegan reminded us why no one bets against him in Melbourne.

Agassi dispatched Australian wildcard Todd Larkham 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 and while the scores suggest a flogging, Larkham was actually respectable for a player ranked 162 in the world, with only two grand slam match victories to his name, against the master of Melbourne Park. He was more competitive, in fact, than a couple of the cannon-fodder finalists - Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement - that count among the 22 consecutive Agassi victims at this event.

Larkham, monstered by Lleyton Hewitt and then John McEnroe (in the commentary box) in a second-round night fixture last year, had written down a motivational message before the match. "Anything is possible tonight," it read. "Anything" could have been breaking Agassi's serve, staving off break points and forcing Andre errors. But "anything" would not amount to victory, or even to a set.

Larkham did challenge Agassi on occasion. In the second set, the Australian held the early break and an unthinkable 3-1 lead. But once Agassi broke back, the meaningful resistance, too, was broken.

"He certainly made me earn it tonight," Agassi said of Larkham. "I just had to make sure I executed on the right points. Fortunately, I did that."

Roddick, the world No. 1, also "executed" when it counted in his 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Fernando Gonzalez. Roddick's first-round encounter was about as ugly, on paper, as a top seed could reasonably expect on day one. He was up against the world No. 34; technically speaking, he could not play a higher-ranked player, unless it was the 33.

Chile's Gonzalez possesses similar weapons to Roddick: a monstrous serve and heavy forehand. Roddick admitted to entering the match with trepidation, since it was unusual for him to be matched for sheer power.

What distinguished numero uno from numero 34 was - as you'd guess - his capacity to produce unerringly accurate power, particularly the monster serve, when required.

This was particularly evident in the third set, when Roddick was down 3-5 and seemed headed for the nasty match he'd feared.

"For the most part, you know, I served well in the big points," said Roddick. "I felt like the third set, my service percentage really went down, and maybe towards the tail end of the second set. But, you know, I figured something out and I was able to kind of get through. Especially in the tie-breaker, I don't think I missed a first serve, so that was key."

It might have happened anyway, but Roddick's transformation from great white hype to one who delivers has coincided with his decision to team up with Brad Gilbert, the coach who guided Agassi to late career riches (pre-Darren Cahill).

The most revealing fact about Gilbert is that his autobiography, written after his retirement, was called Winning Ugly.

Gilbert, never one to talk down his charges, has suggested - we assume seriously - that Roddick is capable of one day serving at 265 km/h. To put that call in perspective, Roddick jointly holds the ATP record, with Greg Rusedski, of 239 km/h.

"Brad says a lot of things," said Roddick of his coach's prediction. "That seems absurd to me, but, who knows?"

Like any shrewd coach, Gilbert has core principles, but otherwise adopts a horses for courses approach with Roddick, blessed as he is to have had only thoroughbreds in the stable.

"Brad's philosophy is I'm not Andre, and so he can't approach me like he did with Andre," Roddick said. "Obviously, it's nice, you know - we don't talk about, you know, his relationship with Andre that much. But just me knowing that he's been there before and he's not gonna get freaked out by any situation or surprised by anything is, it's nice to know."

And the 21-year-old who has hosted the American comedy institution, Saturday Night Live, and "didn't suck", as Roddick appraised his performance, won't be easily freaked out by anything that happens on the court.